The Uttarakhand Government has issued a notification regarding the use of red beacons of official vehicles belonging to persons holding constitutional posts.
As per the notification issued by the Chief Secretary Subhash Kumar, red beacons without hooters will be allowed only atop the official vehicles of persons divided into seven categories.
The red beacons sans hooters will be allowed on the official vehicles of the Governor, Chief Minister, Vidhan Sabha Speaker,
leader of Opposition in the Vidhan Sabha, members of the State cabinet, Chief Justice of the High Court and judges of the High Court. Kumar said that discussion will be held soon regarding the use of blue and other coloured beacons by enforcement officers and emergency medical services.
It is pertinent to mention here that this decision of the State Government is expected to bring about major reduction in the number of red beacons in use by public servants and public representatives in this small mountain States where red and blue beaconed vehicles have become all too common.
This decision has been taken by the State Government after the Supreme Court held in December last year that red beacon can only be used by high dignitaries holding Constitutional posts both at the Centre and in the States.
Giving States three months to draw a fresh list of persons under this rule, a bench of Justices GS Singhvi and C Nagappan had termed such symbols to be reflective of ‘Raj mentality’ and an ‘antithesis of the concept of a Republic’ that requires public functionaries to be servants of their masses and not their rulers.